We are all in favour of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services. It is in everyone's interest, however, to seek to reduce the cost of public services without at the same time damaging the quality and range of delivery. Finding that crucial balance is one reason why many people want to become chairs of public bodies in the first place; it is why the Public Chairs' Forum exists.

In my experience, chairs hate to see waste. They constantly seek to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and feel fully accountable for the performance of their organisations, but they also have a fundamental belief in the values and principles of public service.

Public bodies carry out vital functions which are key to the delivery of important public services. These functions range from protecting the public interest as a regulator; inspecting service delivery to enable performance improvement; delivering specialist roles that are better undertaken at arm's length from government, at a distance from party politics, and much more. It is inconceivable that many services valued by the public can be delivered without the accountable bodies which oversee them.

But it takes two to make the system work efficiently and effectively. The relationship between government and its arm's length bodies is fundamental to this – something that is too often overlooked. One might never guess from the way these changes have been reported that chairs and their organisations have actually been key in enabling the government to realise the savings it is now claiming.

If we are really to be able to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these organisations there should be a focus, not simply on the mechanisms for reducing costs, but also on strengthening the relationship between public bodies and government departments.

This is the reason why we published ourreport, It takes two, with the Institute for Government. It offers a practical framework on which public bodies and departments can act immediately to identify and address any issues in their relationship. If the government's ambitious goals for cost saving are to be realised and public services improved, it cannot do it on its own. It takes two.